568 



MEXICO. 



Of the $1,057,183 expended by the Ministry 

 of Justice and Public Instruction, $636,811 

 was for the latter branch. It should be re- 

 marked, that the expenses of primary instruc- 

 tion, like those of the benevolent institutions, 

 are defrayed out of the funds of the various 

 municipalities. By far the heaviest drain on 

 the Mexican Treasury is the War Department, 

 the outlay for account of which in 1879-'80 

 amounted to $3,678,662, or rather more than 

 two fifths of the entire revenue. The Depart- 

 ment of Public Works, etc. (Fomentd), dis- 

 bursed $1,219,063 for rail ways (subsidies, etc.). 



The following schedule presents the budget 

 estimates for each of the four years commenc- 

 ing 1878-79 : 



In the estimated revenue for 1881-'82 figures 

 an item of $4,000,000, the presumed yield of 

 a " new impost on tobacco and a new stamp- 

 tax " ; and the lottery-tax (consisting of an im- 

 post of 10 per cent on the prizes drawn in the 

 State lotteries) stands at $60,000, against $32,- 

 856 for the year immediately preceding. 



To the statements given in the " Annual Cy- 

 clopaedia" for 1880 (page 511), in relation to 

 the national debt of the Mexican Republic, 

 there is nothing of importance to add here, 

 save the following declaration published by the 

 Mexican Minister in Paris : 



LEGATION OF THK UNITED STATES OF MEXICO nr PARIS, / 

 PARIS, January 17, 18S1. ) 



It has come to my knowledge that the name of the 

 Mexican Government has been mixed up in a very 

 recent speculation in Mexican bonds, under the im- 

 pression that persons of American nationality were 

 purchasing for its account. This report lacks all 

 foundation. The Mexican Government has nothing 

 whatever to do with them. 



The name of the Government of Mexico is fre- 

 quently being used with reference to the Mexican 

 debt, with the evident object of bringing about rises 

 and falls in the bonds. I am bound to declare that 

 no person whatever has been or is authorized to use 

 the name of vlie Mexican Government; and whatever 

 telegrams may be supposed to come or may come from 

 Mexico in reference to the debt should 'be received 

 with the greatest mistrust from whatever sources they 

 may proceed or by whomsoever they may be received. 

 I do not know the intentions of my Government, but 

 I can assert that, when the moment for the settlement 

 of the Mexican credit shall be thought to have arrived, 

 steps will be taken to give due publicity to all inter- 

 ested as to the intention of the Mexican Government ; 

 and that, therefore, all letters or telegrams (so fre- 

 auentlv received from Mexico from persons in confi- 

 dential communication with some member of the 

 Government) on questions connected with our credit 

 may be treated a* wholly untrustworthy. 



E. VELASCO. 



The fifth annual installment ($300,000) of 

 the Mexican indemnity to the United States 

 was paid in 1881 with equal punctuality as in 

 the preceding years. 



* From official publications. 



The supineness of the Government in regard 

 to the publication of commercial statistics ren- 

 ders it impossible to obtain any other informa- 

 tion than that (very meager indeed, owing to 

 the same difficulty) included in the consular 

 reports to the Department of State. In an 

 octavo volume of nearly 700 pages, issued from 

 the Ministerio de Fomento, no allusion to the 

 foreign trade of the republic is anywhere met 

 with, notwithstanding some forty pages are 

 taken up with Federal and State finance re- 

 ports! Reference may be made to the "An- 

 nual Cyclopaedia" for 1880 (page 512) for de- 

 tails concerning trade and industries. With 

 greater facilities for the transportation of her 

 varied products to the coasts and frontiers, 

 Mexico finds her commerce with Europe and 

 the United States already considerably ex- 

 tended ; but the increase will be still more ap- 

 parent when some of the new railways now in 

 process of construction shall have been com- 

 pleted. Sincere well-wishers of Mexico have 

 for some time past been urging upon the atten- 

 tion of both governments the necessity of a 

 commercial treaty between that country and 

 the United States. Such a measure could not 

 fail to turn the tide of Mexican commerce from 

 European shores to our own, with incalculable 

 benefit to the countries on either side of the 

 Rio Grande. 



The great problem of the hour for Mexico 

 is the execution of her numerous railway proj- 

 ects, due for the most part to American enter- 

 prise, but eagerly accepted and encouraged by 

 the Mexican Government as the means of de- 

 veloping her unbounded natural resources, and 

 elevating her to the place which Nature de- 

 signed her to occupy among Western nations. 

 The following extract from a circular issued by 

 the Board of Directors of the Mexican Central 

 Railway Company, and the remarks on railway 

 concerns contained in President Gonzalez's 

 message, of which a few paragraphs are also 

 here transcribed, will throw some light on the 

 progress already achieved in this direction : 



MEXICAN CENTRAL RAILWAY COMPANT, LIMITED. I 

 BOSTON, April 12, 1882. f 

 Circular No. 3. 



This company has constructed 218 miles of its 

 main line from the city of Mexico north, and 136 miles 

 from Paso del Norte south, and twenty miles on the 

 Tampico line. Total amount of road constructed to 

 date, 374 miles. The total interest on bonds issued 

 and to be issued this year, including coupons due 

 January 1, 1883, will amount to $991,935. After a 

 careful examination of the earnings of the road, as far 

 as reported, and the estimates of General Manager 

 Fink and General Superintendent Anthony, together 

 with the information obtained from all other sources, 

 I estimate the gross earnings of the road for the year 

 1882, exclusive of earnings on company's materials, at 

 $1,798,584 ; deducting 60 per cent for operating ex- 

 penses (the company paying no taxes), the net earn- 

 ings applicable to interest wul be $719,434. The com- 

 pany nas reserved in the treasury $2,000 of the first- 

 mortgage bonds and $2,000 of the stock per mile, 

 which may be applied to the payment of interest dur- 

 ing construction if required. When the main line is 

 constructed, this reserve will amount to $5,800,000 of 

 bonds and $2,500,000 of stock. The gross earnings 



